“I want us to look big,” I said to Regis McKenna. Regis is a legendary Silicon Valley marketer who has worked with Apple (their first PC launch) and Intel (their first microprocessor launch. He was an advisor to one of my investors (Gill), and he had worked previously with my other investor (Raul). [Do you…
How do you divide equity between co-founders? This is my definitive guide to splitting equity. I’ll cover everything to do with equity splits in this video. There are 8 different topics regarding equity we will talk about. So grab a pen and some paper to take notes. The bottom line is you do two things:…
“I’m managing three companies,” “Jason” said to me. It was our first conversation, and warning lights started going off. “Tell me about the three companies?” I said. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] Jason said, “The first company is a software company which is doing about $5 million…
Of all the hires you make as a startup CEO, hiring a VP Sales will likely be the most challenging. That’s what we’ll explore in this video. I’ll walk you through the all the issues you’re going to face hiring your VP Sales, and I’ll give you tips to solve these problems too. Plus, stick…
When I was an engineer in the prehistoric, pre-internet days, I loved when sales reps would come to visit. They would bring data books with them which had their whole catalog of products. The salesperson would also bring samples and data sheets of their latest products too. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe…
Every year, one of my VC investors would hold a “CEO Summit.” All the of the portfolio company CEOs would gather to network and listen to presentations from various people. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The final speaker on the final day was always Jack Dorsey of…
It’s common. You and a couple of friends start a company. Your friends regarded you as a peer, and now you’re the CEO. But there’s one tiny problem: Your friends/co-founders see you as a peer, not the CEO. In this video, I’ll give you my tips for how to overcome this challenge. Plus, stick around…
I was fortunate to be involved with one of the most successful companies ever formed in the chip industry, Maxim Integrated Products. Maxim grew to over $2 billion/year in revenue, with net margins approaching 40%. It was a cash machine. [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] The company…
“Everything hinges on us being able to find a great VP Engineering,” I said to Dave Epstein. Dave was a partner at the VC firm that was thinking of bringing me on as Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR). [Do you want to grow your business? Maybe I can help. Click here.] EIRs are brought in by VC…
Don’t kid yourself, being a startup CEO is hard. Every minute of every day, from the time you start your company, to the day you sell your company, you’re going to be thinking about your startup. As a startup CEO, you have roles and responsibilities that go beyond just getting your work done. In this…